Chapter 306
Cleopatra's daily routine in Rome was relatively simple.
With no need to handle state affairs as a pharaoh, she found herself with an immense amount of free time.
Whenever Marcus had the morning off, they would leisurely share a cup of coffee and discuss domestic and foreign affairs.
Afterward, she would dine with her younger sister, Arsinoe, and go for a walk.
Though Rome was a foreign country, she had lived there so long that it felt very much like a second home.
Even so, she never forgot her identity as a pharaoh.
Unlike Arsinoe, she had no desire to settle down and live as a Roman.
She was, after all, the Queen of Egypt.
Lately, however, she felt those boundaries growing increasingly blurred.
That feeling only deepened whenever she debated Roman politics with Marcus.
Every time she realized she was becoming more intimately familiar with Rome than with Egypt, a strange sensation washed over her.
"What's with that look? Is something on your mind?"
Seeing right through her, Marcus set his coffee cup down and studied her face.
Brimming with intellect yet endlessly considerate, he was the picture of an ideal husband.
In the past, he had maintained a polite courtesy that drew a slight line between them, but lately, that attitude had vanished.
As the great Augustus of Rome, he likely saw no further reason to use formalities with the Queen of Egypt.
Even so, she liked it; it felt as though an invisible wall between them had finally crumbled.
In fact, Arsinoe also seemed incredibly pleased by the shift in Marcus's tone.
Once again, Cleopatra felt a lingering pang of regret that she was not this man's first.
If he had been born an Egyptian royal rather than a Roman, she would have done whatever it took to make him hers alone.
"No. I just lost focus for a moment thinking of something else. You seem to be in quite a good mood, though."
"Didn't you hear? Cato said he isn't going to retire."
"Ah, right. But didn't you predict his retirement with a very serious face, saying, 'Cato has held out long enough. It's time for him to step down'?"
"I've already caught some teasing from Julia over that. Honestly, with the Senators around his age steadily retiring, I didn't see any particular reason for Cato to keep his seat. It was a surprise. Thanks to that, looking into a professorship and securing a small villa as a retirement gift for him was all a waste of time."
Cleopatra had spoken with Cato a few times herself.
A deeply rooted republican, he didn't particularly care for the very existence of a queen.
She distinctly remembered that while he maintained basic courtesy, his attitude had never been favorable.
Her impression back then was of a stubborn old man unable to keep up with the times.
She had expected him to be weeded out soon enough, so it seemed her prediction had been just as wrong as Marcus's.
"But why do you look so pleased when your prediction missed the mark? You're normally never wrong."
"I'm human too, so why wouldn't my predictions miss sometimes? Prophesying the future and making an educated guess are entirely different things. Besides, a situation like this is a refreshing stimulus, so it's actually a good thing. I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how Cato will change."
"Meaning that no matter how hard he tries, it's impossible for him to become a real threat... so you can afford to sit back and watch."
"If possible, I'd like him to become a good friend. To be frank, up until now, he hasn't been worth much attention."
In other words, he had possessed little value as either an enemy or an ally.
Marcus had only left him around because it would be problematic if there were absolutely no critical voices left.
Cleopatra doubted how much a man of that age could really change, but Marcus seemed to think otherwise.
Regardless, Rome's internal politics had little to do with her.
She changed the subject to their children's education.
Marcus, whose love for his daughters was boundless, gladly followed her lead.
In truth, this issue was the primary source of Cleopatra's biggest headaches, but she decided not to let it show right here and now.
*
After their morning chat ended, Cleopatra returned to her own estate.
She deliberately avoided taking a carriage.
It had become her habit to take a slow walk to digest her breakfast.
She was getting older now, and maintaining her flawless figure required moving her body that much more.
Walking also allowed her to lose herself in thought over various topics, so she never found it boring.
Normally, she would plunge into deep contemplation during this solitary stroll.
However, perhaps because of her earlier conversation with Marcus, her thoughts were zeroed in on a single subject.
It was a problem concerning her daughter—one she couldn't help but fret over, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
She was not only a mother but also a queen responsible for a nation.
Her daughter, too, held the status of the one who would succeed her as the pharaoh of Egypt.
Therefore, she had to pay special attention to the girl's education from a young age.
Simply accumulating knowledge was not enough.
The insight to see through international affairs and a proper sense of balance were more important than anything else.
Pouring her heart and soul into it, Cleopatra had provided her daughter with a rigorous education from childhood.
Fortunately, her child was quite brilliant.
Inheriting not only her own blood but Marcus's as well, she had never entertained the thought that the girl would turn out foolish.
Her academic achievements were noticeably a step ahead of Arsinoe's daughter.
That fact secretly pleased Cleopatra.
She was certain that if the girl just continued growing up this way, she would become an outstanding pharaoh of Egypt and a worthy successor.
Up until a few years ago, that was definitely the case.
What was mercilessly grating on her nerves right now had nothing at all to do with her daughter's intellect.
It was...
"Cleopatra Selene! Are you trying to display another one of these ridiculous statues in the garden? Take it away this instant!"
Startled by her mother's thunderous scolding, the young girl waddling along with a rather heavy-looking statue in her arms jumped and tumbled backward.
"You scared me! Why are you yelling?"
"I told you clearly. Bringing those statues into this house is strictly forbidden."
"I wasn't going to leave it in the garden, I was bringing it to my room. How I decorate my room is my business. Dad said I could do whatever I want as long as it doesn't harm Rome's national interests or violate basic human morality!"
The daughter born to Marcus and Cleopatra had been named Cleopatra, following Egyptian tradition.
To distinguish her from her mother, Cleopatra Philopator, she was called Cleopatra Selene, but the girl didn't care for her name.
What was worse, when she had been scolded by Cleopatra over a statue not long ago, the daughter had run straight to Marcus and turned on the charm.
Clearly, Marcus, who was endlessly weak when it came to his daughters, had completely surrendered to her sweet-talking.
Cleopatra, however, had not the slightest intention of tolerating this ridiculous behavior.
"Dear, you are destined to succeed me as the pharaoh of Egypt. You know that, don't you?"
"Yes, yes. Of course I know. I've grown up hearing that ten times a day since I was little."
"Exactly. So if someone in your position behaves in such a... ludicrous manner, what do you think the subjects of Egypt will think?"
"Wouldn't they just think nothing of it? In fact, I actually want to show the Egyptian people how wonderful our dear brother is."
"Dear brother, my foot!"
Having raised her voice without realizing it, Cleopatra took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
Was she saying she wanted to haul those absurd statues all the way to Egypt?
Out of the question.
She absolutely could not allow that.
"I simply cannot fathom—not even a speck of it—why you like that man so much. Furthermore, he already has a wife. Just what are you plotting? Don't tell me you intend to seduce your half-sister's husband?"
"Oh, of course not! Mom, you just don't get it. I adore Brother Octavian, but I don't want to do anything sexual with him. Sophia knows that perfectly well, which is why she turns a blind eye to what I do."
"It doesn't look like she's turning a blind eye so much as she just lacks a valid excuse to lock you up, so she has no choice but to leave you alone."
Even at Cleopatra's cutting remark, her daughter just gazed at the statue in rapture, as if she hadn't heard a word.
The subject of that statue was none other than Octavian.
It was the name of the man who had been granted the ultimate fortune in Rome: becoming Sophia's husband.
Whatever had gotten into her, her daughter had been entirely infatuated with Octavian for the past few years.
No, 'infatuated' wasn't nearly enough to explain it.
If she had to make a comparison, it was similar to how men went wild for gladiators.
She commissioned artisans to craft custom statues of Octavian and plastered her room with an excessive number of his portraits.
She had even gone so far as to have his likeness engraved on her ceiling so she could stare at his face whenever she lay in bed.
The horror Cleopatra felt upon walking into her daughter's room was beyond words.
When she told Marcus about it, he muttered something under his breath about 'fangirls' or whatever.
She didn't know what that meant, but she was certain it wasn't anything positive.
What made the girl's problem even worse was that she was doing this in an organized fashion.
It was true that Octavian was a handsome young man, to the point where even a woman might consider him pretty.
Because of that, it seemed there were quite a few daughters of noble houses who secretly admired him.
Her daughter had rallied these young women together and formed a bizarre organization called the Brother Octavian Fan Club.
They produced and sold statues and portraits of Octavian, and they would camp out in front of the Senate house, shrieking and kicking up a fuss the moment he came into view.
When Cleopatra first found out her own daughter was doing this, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.
The fact that the person who first told her about it was none other than Octavian himself only amplified her humiliation a hundredfold.
'To be honest, it's gotten a bit terrifying lately. Could you please ask your daughter to restrain herself a little? I'm begging you.'
Faced with Octavian making such a polite request, all she could do was apologize.
Cleopatra hadn't even been that fond of Octavian to begin with.
He was easy to converse with and showed her impeccable manners, yet for some strange reason, he put her off.
Was it just a clash of personalities?
He was someone who just didn't sit right with her on a fundamental level.
Her daughter, on the other hand, grumbled that she couldn't understand her mother at all.
"It's a real shame that you don't recognize how wonderful Brother Octavian is, Mom."
"That 'brother' nonsense is going to give me hives. Don't even let the word leave your mouth."
"Then what else am I supposed to call him? He married Sophia, so he's practically my real brother now."
"Don't tell me... you haven't been making a spectacle of yourself in front of the Senate with those other girls lately, have you?"
"A spectacle? It's wholesome cheering! I know where to draw the line, and I never cross it. Our number one rule is absolutely no physical contact."
If she talked with her any longer, her blood pressure would skyrocket and she might just collapse.
Clutching her dizzy head, Cleopatra stormed right back out of the estate.
She absolutely could not understand how such a child had come from her own womb.
Until now, she had been too embarrassed to complain about it to anyone.
But right now, she felt like she'd lose her mind if she didn't tell somebody.
At times like this, the only person she could frankly pour her heart out to was her younger sister.
The moment she arrived at Arsinoe's estate and took a seat, she unloaded her grievances.
Comfort, mockery—anything was fine.
As long as someone could just sympathize with the sheer absurdity of the situation, she would be satisfied.
However, while waiting for her sister's reaction, Cleopatra received an answer she hadn't imagined in her wildest dreams.
"Ah... so your house is no different."
What on earth did that mean?
Cleopatra's eyes began to tremble violently as she stared at her sister's bitterly smiling face.